4 More Character Design Tips!
After the wild and unexpected success that my other article on character design tips was, and how ArtStation even decided it was cool enough to feature it for the whole community to see in their newsletter, I’ve gone back to give you a few more character design tips!
It hasn't been that long, but in the time that's passed, I’ve been part of several AAA projects pushing creative boundaries. That experience has led me here, ready to offer more tips, rooted in both introspection and inspiration. Let’s dive into Character Design Tips, take two!
This is Character Design Tips, take two!
Number one: Your work doesn’t live on an island.
Number one came to me after watching David Carson’s masterclass, (the world’s most googled graphic designer) and has been stuck in my head ever since—and I’m fine with it.
Your work isn’t isolated—it interacts with the world around it. Leverage the atmosphere and environment to amplify your design. It could be as simple as keeping your character grounded in their universe or as intricate as weaving environmental details into their story.
Take my Oracle Character Design, for example. I imagined her living and traveling through forests, so I gave her subtle cuts—bruises from brushes with trees and bushes. They’re not battle wounds; they’re from living in her world.
Notice the arm on the right, and how subtle the cuts are. Also, every element should tell not a story, but her story, the fox she may have hunted for fur, the war paint in leaves format symbols that she’s one with the forest.
The viewer may toy with the idea that she eats psychedelic mushrooms or that she’s a dryad, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that you get the viewer to relate to a story, even if it’s their own story that you didn’t think about, nor necessarily thought of, you just unlocked something in their mind, that’s the sweet spot. You got them to react.
“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
Research is Important for Character Design.
I mean it. This is akin to eat your vegetables. Everyone knows it’s good for you, hardly anyone takes it seriously, until they need it.
Google Images or Pinterest isn’t research. (Unless you’re on a deadline) - if not, do proper research, not just any research. Get intimate with the creative process, as if it's a relationship between you and the subject matter.
Copy-pasting images into your Photoshop canvas is hardly researching, it’s just… copy-pasting images into your Photoshop canvas.
noun
noun: research; plural noun: researches
the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
"the group carries out research in geochemistry"
work
engaged in or intended for research.
modifier noun: research
"a research student"
verb
verb: research; 3rd person present: researches; past tense: researched; past participle: researched; gerund or present participle: researching
investigate systematically.
"she has spent the last five years researching her people's history"
As you see here, research is hardly looking at whatever someone pre-selected on Google Images, or generated on AI, it is not a product of a pre-set or assumptions of what an idea looks like, instead, is fruit of deliberate analysis.
Tip: Have fun with the character research process. Don’t forget to dance!
When preparing a character design, what I like to do is to find avenues to relate to the character, and see it as an opportunity for work-life integration, rather than work-life balance. Allow me to explain:
If I’m faced with a character like the above, a bartender NPC for an Old West setting, I want to relate to it, and go out of my way to see bartenders in their natural habitat.
How? My friends and I went coffee shop and bar hopping around downtown recently.
Again, there's a lot of talk about work-life balance, but what I find that what I like the most is work-life integration: I got to spend time with friends, go out of my comfort zone and talk to strangers (different bartenders), get a feel for their persona and what tools they use and why and what’d make their jobs easier, so I’m enjoying my time-out, and all while still studying the subject real-time, from up close.
Because I’m fortunate that I’m a quite varied person and I like a lot of different edges of life, I could go bar hopping in different café and bar themes, and check where all of these different people overlap on, what is it that they all agree on that makes them a bartender? And recognizable as such?
We went from a Mexican bar, to a biker bar, Hard Rock Cafe, and even a fancy Art Nouveau bar.
“There is no such thing as work-life balance. It is all life. The balance has to be within you.”
I needed to determine the common elements present in the attire, icons, symbols, and motifs of bartenders, regardless of the setting.
I was interested in identifying the fundamental aspects that are essential for them to perform their job well and exploring ways to improve their functionality to make their job easier. This not only enhances the believability of the characters but also enriches the storytelling experience for the audience, adding to the replay value of any game or film.
Some may argue that using Google Images, Pinterest albums, or AI art generators would suffice for creating references. However, I believe that the world offers a broader range of inspiration than what can be found on television or the internet.
Although these tools may be sufficient for starting a conversation, focusing only on what's good will limit progress. By prioritizing the process, one may not know the exact outcome, but it will undoubtedly lead to valuable discoveries.
Number Four: Extra character design ideas for you to think about.
Think back about the time you went very literal on a design, where you were more focused on drawing the superficial than the deeper insight on your character, environment or atmosphere. Where could you have been more authentic to the process? Where could you have related and created a relationship with the product itself?
Here are a few examples of what it might look like; Instead of looking for reference online, consider the following options:
If there’s an abandoned house or site of any sort around you, go there and collect a bunch of lost items, things people left behind, anything that captures your fancy. Bonus points if you photograph, and bring plastic bags and gloves and take a few of those home with you to study.
Once you do, make a skeleton mockup with clay of what the character living there may look like, and just like that, you have a post-apocalyptic character that is unique, original, and whom nobody else will have access to online.If there’s a skater group in your town, and you need to make a skate project, say, something akin to “Tony Hawk Pro Skater” game; go there, sit and sketch them from a far. This will avoid you falling for poser or otherwise fake archetypes of what a skater may not look like, and alienate your audience. Bonus points if you’re shy or socially awkward, and you ask to join and teach them a trick or two. There’ll be nothing like being involved in the community in order to properly depict it from a love lens, illustrate them and the feeling they’d left on you, instead of capturing them like they’re some kind of alien race.
If you need to make horror concept art, be it prop design or character design; look for weird fortune-tellers in your town, ask them to read your future, and just like that, you have your main personality to draw from already in front of you.
Some may argue that these things take too much time and effort, but I’d argue that it’s better we set on a clear blueprint for good work ahead of time, than wasting time on countless amounts of revisions later on, that’ll just leave everyone frustrated and tired down the line, because we seemingly couldn’t nail the core of it earlier.
I will soon be writing another blog post about work-life balance and how one can integrate these aspects further into their routine and be inspired more often, watch this space!
“By failing to plan, you are planning to fail.”
Thank you for reading! If you're inspired by this post and are looking for a seasoned freelance concept artist, designer, and storytelling strategist, consider partnering with Miguel Nogueira. With extensive experience in collaborating with top studios to create compelling visual solutions, Miguel can help your project reach its full potential.
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Miguel has worked with several AAA and AA game studios, contributing to the successful release of multiple titles as a Senior Consultant Concept Artist and Design Lead. His expertise in concept art and design is unmatched in the industry.
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